Locomotive tender



npmll 7 W3@ H. P. ANDERSON mfm? LOCOMOTIVE TENDER Y Filed July 26, ,19322 Sheets-Shee'cl l /L/ ATTORNEY.

INVENTOR. M/am/zymz www# AWM 7 WM.. H, P, ANDERSON LOCOMOTIVE TENDER 2Sheets-Sheet 2k Filed July 26, 1952 ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 7, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOCOMOTIVE TENDERApplication July 26, 1932, Serial No. 624,746

7 Claims.

This invention relates to locomotive tenders and is particularlydirected to the class equipped with fuel conveying mechanism.

In present day practice of the railways, the general trend is toward anextension of the olistance which the locomotive travels. This has beenaccomplished, in a degree, by improvements in the locomotive and tenderand especially by the provision of means which permits the water supplyof the tender to be replenished whiie the locomotive is in motion. Whilethis improvedv means has been provided for replenishing the tender watersupply, it has been necessary to stop several times during each trip forthe purpose of replenishing the coal supply on the tender inasmuch asthe capacity of the coal bin is limited by certain factors, as willpresently appear. It will be readily understood that the time consumedin replenishing the coal supply voided some of the advantages which wereexpected to have been gained by extending the runs of the locomotive.

The capacity of the tender coal bin is limited, largely by the length ofthe Stoker trough which underlies the coal bin iloor and receives coalthrough an aperture therein. The length'of this trough is dependent uponthe length of the screw conveyor mounted in the trough for urging thecoal therethrough. This screw conveyor cannot exceed certain definedlimits due to the fact that if it is greatly increased in length, thescrew hub assumes prohibitive dimensions, which would necessitate theenlargement of the screw diameter in order that the desired fuelconveying capacity may be maintained. This would increase the size ofthe stoker parts in proportion, thereby greatly increasing the totalweight disposed on the locomotive tender, the disadvantages of which areobvious.

It is, therefore, the main object of this invention to provide alocomotive tender equipped with a Stoker trough of an unusual lengthwhich will proportionately increase the capacity of the tender coal binwithout substantially increasing the size of the screw `conveyor hub orthe diameter of the screw night throughout the length of the screw.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a tender of the classdescribed with a stoker trough of an unusual length which comprisesseveral conveyor portions, each functioning as a separate unit.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a tender equippedwith a stoker trough of an unusual length which trough includes asectional screw conveyor comprising a plurality of sections, the shaftextensions of which are suitably jointed and journalled in bearings attheir adjacent ends.

A still further object of this invention is the provision in a tender ofa stoker trough comprising a plurality of sections and including aplurality of screw sections connected at their adjacent ends, of abearing member for journalling the adjacent screw sections in thevicinity of their connections and a Crusher member arch ing over each ofsaid screw sections, the screw sections being arranged whereby eachsection transmits the thrust developed when conveying and crushing coalonly to the bearing member immediately rearward thereof.

Other and novel objects of this invention such as the novel form of thestoker trough will be apparent when the following specification is readin connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is acentral vertical longitudinal sec tion of the forward portion of alocomotive tender With the invention shown in similar section;

Figure 2 is a plan section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, looking in thedirection of the arrows; and

Figure 4 is a section taken on the line 4-ll of Figure 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the locomotive tender is shown at A andincludes a tank l@ mounted upon a base or frame l I which is preferablyof the water bottom type. The tender A comprises the fuel compartment Fand the Water compartment W, separated by sloping partition plates l2,I3, and i4 which at their lower marginal end portions form a water tightseal with the upper portions of the side walls l5, I6, the front wall Iland the rear wall i8 of the box-like stoker trough structure or castmember B. The cast member B houses and maintains the various parts ofthe Stoker trough i9 in their proper relations.

The fuel compartment F includes the coal bin or bunker 2li which isdisposed above the tender deck 2| having a central aperture 22 coveredby slidable plates 23 for controlling the flow of coal from the bin tothe trough I9. Coal passed into the trough I9 is urged forwardly by ascrew conveyor, generally indicated by the numeral 2li, to thelocomotive by a conduit, not shown, which may be flexibly connected tothe spherical shell 25 secured to the iront wall Il of the cast memberB.

Motion is imparted tothe screw conveyor 24 by gearing mounted within thewater tight housing 26 formed with the rear wall I8. A pinion 2l mesheswith a gear 28 which is provided with a shaft 29 suitably journalled inbearings 30 and 3|. The shaft 29 has an angular portion 32 which isreceived by a similar recess 33 of the screw 24. The pinion 2l ismounted on a drive shaft 34 which extends forwardly from said pinion andpasses through the front wall I1, being provided with a coupling member35 for connection to any suitable source of power. The stoker trough I9is of the form which permits the water to Contact its side and bottomwalls, hence the drive shaft 34 is protected from the water by acompartment 36 which extends from the front wall I'I to the rear wallI8, the compartment 36 being formed by the irregular shaped wall 31which is formed integrally with the trough I9. The drive shaft iscarried by the bearings 38, 39 at its extremities and may be providedwith additional intermediate bearings such as 40, 4I which aredetachably secured to the wall of the compartment 36. Access to theselast named bearings may be had by removal of the covers 42 from withinthe trough I9.

The screw conveyor 24 comprises the forward screw section 43 and therearward screw section 44, in which latter section is contained theangular recess 33 for receiving the angular portion 32 of the gear shaft29. The forward portion of the screw section 44 is journalled in abearing member 45 which is disposed about midway of the trough I9. Thescrew section 44 has an angular extension 45 which is received by theangular recess 41 of the screw section 43 whereby said screw sectionsare operatively connected to each other. The bearing member 45 issupported from a bracket 48 which extends transversely of the trough I9and has the upper flat portion 49 and the depending ange 50 whichsupports a crusher 5I arching over the screw section 44. A crusher 52 issecured to the front wall I 'l' and arches over the forward screwsection 43 which engages oversize lumps of coal with the crusher andreduces them to a size suitable for efficient firing.

Due to the fact that the capacity of the screw conveyor has been reducedby the presence of the bearing member 45 and the enlarged portion 53 ofthe screw hub 54, the diameter of the screw flights at this point hasbeen increased as at 55 in order that the screw section 43 may carry thecoal away at least as fast as it is delivered thereto by the screwsection 44. The bottom arcuate wall 56 of the trough I9 is enlarged asat 51 in the vicinity of the enlarged portion 53 of the screw 43. Thescrews 43 and 44 are preferably made slightly larger in diameter and areprovided with flights of heavier section at the point in the immediatevicinity of their respective crushers 52 and 5|, since the screws wearmore rapidly at such points. The at portion 49 of the support bracket 48prevents the large lumps of coal from damaging the bearing member 45 andalso restricts the amount of coal which falls into the enlarged portion53 of the screw conveyor when the slide plate at this point isuncovered.

If found desirable, the cast member B and its associate trough I9 may bemade of several sections which are securely connected to each other. Forthis purpose, the cast member B comprises the forward portion 69 and therearward portion 6 I, each consisting of a trough portion 52 and 63having the screw conveyors 43 and 44 respectively. The adjacent faces ofthe portions 60 and 6I are securely connected to each other by anysuitable means such as rivets 64 which pass through the flanges 65 and66 of the portions 6B and 6| respectively. Preferably, this joint orconnection between these portions is water tight and is made at orslightly rearward of the bearing 45, thereby forming a plurality ofunits which are separate from each other in their respective functionsbut which units are connected to form, in effect, a continuous troughI9.

In the operation of this device, coal from the forward portion of thebin 20 is rst consumed, the coal falling from the bin into the forwardportion 52 of the trough I9 to be urged forwardly by the screw section43 therein. As the larger lumps of coal are engaged by the crusher 52, arearward thrust is developed, causing the screw section 43 to presstightly against the wear washer 58 of the bearing member 45. It will beobserved that this rearward thrust is not transferred to the rearwardscrew section 44 due to the fact that suflicient clearance has beenprovided between the end of the angular extension 46 of the screwsection 44 and the recess 4l of the screw section 43.

During the course of an extended run of a locomotive, due to thedepletion of the coal supply, coal will be fed into the rearward portion63 of the trough I9 from that portion of the coal bin 29 at or rearwardof the crusher 5I. In this instance, the rearward thrust occasioned bythe crushing of the coal by the crusher 5I is then transmittedrearwardly only to the thrust washer 59 which abuts the bearing 30 ofthe gear housing 26. The fuel so crushed is then urged forwardly throughthe enlarged portion 51 of the trough and is conveyed beneath and beyondthe crusher 52 to the locomotive rlrebox. Since the coal has beenalready reduced by the crusher 5I, further crushing of the coal will notoccur and hence, the only rearward thrust developed by the screw portion43 is that due to the frictional resistance of the coal in conveyance,which may be considered as negligible.

It will be apparent, that a stoker trough of novel form has beenprovided which is comprised of a sectional trough and sectional screws,suitably connected and supported, thereby permitting the formation of atrough of an unusual length, resulting in a coal bin of increasedcapacity. By the provision of the novel thrust transferring andabsorbing means, each of the screws 43 and 44 operate, together withtheir respective trough portions 62 and 63, as a separate unit, therebyequalizing the wear on their respective thrust absorbing elements,resulting in a longer life of these parts.

I claim:

1. In a locomotive tender having a fuel bunker, a trough structuremounted on the tender in communication with the fuel bunker and beingdisposed thereunder, a pair of screw sections mounted in said troughstructure in end to end relation, a bearing member for the adjacent endsof the screw sections disposed intermediate the ends of the troughstructure, a shaft journaled in said bearing member and having its endsop* eratively connected to said screw sections, drive mechanism for saidscrew sections operatively connected to the end of one of said sectionsremote from the bearing member, said bearing member receiving therearward thrust of the forward screw section, and means disposed at therear of the rearward screw section for receivingr its rearward thrust,and a fuel crusher mounted in the trough structure adjacent the deliveryend portion of each of said screw sections.

2. A locomotive tender having a fuel bunker, a Stoker trough structurein communication with the bunker, said trough structure comprising twoseparate sections mounted in end to end relation and Secured together attheir adjacent ends,

a screw in each trough section, a bearing member for the adjacent endsof the screw sections disposed in the forward trough section at therearward end thereof, the rear screw section having a shaft extendingfrom its forward end forwardly through and beyond said bearing member,the rearward end of the forward screw section being provided with a seatfor receiving the portion of said shaft extending forwardly beyond thebearing member, the shaft and the seat being arranged to form a drivingconnection between the two screw sections, said bearing member receivingthe rearward thrust of the forward screw section and means at therearward end of the rear screw section for receiving its rearwardthrust, said forward screw section having a portion at its rearward endof a greater fuel carrying capacity than the forward end portion of saidrearward screw section, a fuel crusher mounted in the forward endportion of each of said trough sections, and drive mechanism for saidscrew sections operatively connected to the end of one of said screwsections remote from said bearing member.

3. In a locomotive tender having a fuel bunker, a stoker troughstructure in communication with the bunker, said trough structurecomprising two separate sections mounted in end to end relation andsecured together at their adjacent ends, a screw in each trough section,a transverse wall extending across the rearward end of the forwardtrough section and being spaced above the bottom thereo-f, a bearingmember depending from said wall, the rearward screw section having ashaft extending from its forward end forwardly through and beyond saidbearing member, the rearward end of the forward screw section beingprovided with a seat for receiving the portion of said shaft extendingforwardly beyond said bearing member, the shaft and the seat beingarranged to form a driving connection between the two screw sections,said bearing member receiving the rearward thrust of the forward screwsection and means disposed at the rearward end of the rear screw sectionfor receiving its rearward thrust, a fuel crusher mounted on saidtransverse wall and extending rearwardly in the rearward trough sectionover the front end portion of the screw therein, a fuel crusher mountedin the forward end portion of said forward trough section, and drivemechanism for said screw sections operatively connected to the end ofone of said screw sections remote from said bearing member.

4. In a locomotive tender having a fuel bunker, a Stoker troughstructure in communication with the bunker, said trough structurecomprising two separate sections mounted in end to end relation andsecured together at their adjacent ends, a screw in each trough section,a bearing member for the adjacent ends of the screw sections disposed atthe juncture of the trough sections, the end of one of said screwsections adjacent said bearing member having a shaft extending throughand beyond said bearing member, the adjacent end of the other screwsection being provided with a seat for receiving that portion of theshaft extending beyond the bearing member, the shaft and the seat beingarranged to form a driving connection between the two screw sections,the bearing member receiving the rearward thrust of the forward screwsection and means at the rearward end of the rear screw section forreceiving its rearward thrust, said forward screw section having aportion at its rearward end of greater fuel carrying capacity than theforward end portion of said rearward screw section, a fuel crushermounted in the forward end portion of each of said trough sections, anddrive mechanism for said screw sections operatively connected to the endof one of said screw sections remote from said bearing member.

5. In a locomotive tender having a fuel bunker, a trough structuremounted on the tender in communication with the fuel bunker and beingdisposed thereunder, said trough structure comprising two separatesections arranged in end to end relation and securely connected togetherat their adjacent ends, a screw section in each trough section, abearing member for the adn jacent ends of the screw sections disposed insaid trough structure at the juncture of the two trough sections, one ofsaid screw sections having a shaft extending through and beyond saidbearing member, the adjacent end of the other screw section beingprovided with a seat for receiving that portion of the shaft extendingbeyond the bearing, the shaft and the seat being arranged to form adriving connection between the two screw sections, drive mechanism forsaid screw sections operatively connected to the end of one of saidscrew sections remote from said bearing member, a crusher mounted in theforward end portion of the rear trough section rearward of said bearingmember, and a crusher mounted in the forward end portion of the forwardtrough section.

6. In a locomotive tender having a fuel bunker, a trough structuremounted on the tender in communication with the fuel bunker and beingdisposed thereunder, said trough structure comprising two separatesections arranged in end to end relation and securely connected togetherat their adjacent ends, a screw section in each trough section, abearing member disposed intermediate the adjacent ends of the screwsections and being disposed in said trough structure adjacent thejuncture of the two trough sections, a shaft journalled in said bearingmember and having its ends operatively connected to said screw sections,drive mechanism for said screw sections operatively connected to the endof one of said sections remote from the bearing member, said bearingmember receiving the rearward thrust of the forward screw section andmeans disposed at the rear of the rearward screw section for receivingits rearward thrust.

'7. In a locomotive tender having a fuel bunker, a trough structuremounted on the tender in communication with the fuel bunker and beingdisposed thereunder, said trough structure comprising two separatesections arranged in end to end relation and securely connected togetherat their adjacent ends, a screw section in each trough section, abearing member disposed intermediate the adjacent ends of the screwsections and being disposed in said trough structure adjacent thejuncture of the two trough sections, a shaft journalled in said bearingmember and having its ends operatively connected to said screw sections,drive mechanism for said screw sections operatively connected to the endof one of said sections remote from the bearing member, said bearingmember receiving the rearward thrust of the forward screw section andmeans disposed at the rear of the rearward screw section for receivingits rearward thrust, and a fuel crusher mounted in the delivery endportion of each of said trough sections.

HOWARD P. ANDERSON.

